BLACK METAL Accepted to Sundance!!

I am very happy to announce that the short film I worked on this past year, BLACK METAL, has been accepted to the 2013 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. It was one of only 65 shorts chosen from more than 8,100 submissions.

Directed by University of Texas film lecturer and MetalSucks fan Kat Candler, BLACK METAL is an eight-minute short that tells the story of how a leader of a black metal band deals with the aftermath of a brutal murder committed by one of his fans.

BLACK METAL stars and was produced by Jonny Mars (SATURDAY MORNING MASSACRE, HELLION) and features the Austin symphonic dark metal band, Vesperian Sorrow, who also provided an original song for the film. It was shot by Andrew Droz Palermo (V/H/S, YOU’RE NEXT) and edited by Duane Graves (THE WILD MAN OF THE NAVIDAD, BONEBOYS). Set props were provided by Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios (PREDATORS, MACHETE KILLS).

I was originally hired on as a “heavy metal consultant” and “true crime expert,” since the film deals with metal and murder. I helped Kat land Vesperian Sorrow for to act as the band in the film; steered her down the correct metal pathways as far as image, attitude, and sound goes; helped a bit with set decoration during the concert sequence; played a crowd extra in the concert; helped dress the police officers; and made sure more blood was smeared at the crime scene. A hell of a lot of fun!

More recently, Kat asked me to act as her music supervisor for BLACK METAL as well. I am very happy to add that, in addition to a killer black metal song from the VS guys, the film will also feature music from MetalSucks faves, Pallbearer, and my top band from 2011, Denmark’s black metal kings, Horned Almighty. Not bad for a film that only last eight minutes (w/credits!).

This is the second straight year that Kat has had a short film accepted by Sundance. This year’s HELLION was a huge success and is currently being turned into a feature-length film.

As a long-time metalhead and true crime author, I am very proud to have my name attached to BLACK METAL. I believe it to be an accurate portrayal of a metal musician caught up in a horrible situation. I believe any metalhead out there can relate and will appreciate this film. Plus the music fucking rocks!!

If any of you crazy Park City or Salt Lake City, Utah metalheads will let me crash at your place for the week, I’ll throw in a free Housecore Horror Film Festival badge for next October. Horror films, plus Down, plus Phil Anselmo, plus Paul Booth, and much more!! How can you lose?